168 
THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL. 
them accordingly. The honey season closes 
generally in April, and the beeman must make 
the most profitable use of it, at the same time 
considering the best way for wintering his bees. 
As worker bees require three weeks for their 
development, and when hatched a few days 
care, all young bees reared in the last foiu* weeks 
neither gather honey nor help to work inside the 
hive, they are valuable for wintering only. Not 
only that, but this late brood helps to consume a 
good deal of honey, and requires to be cared for 
and fed by other bees, and the cells used for 
breeding can not be used for storing honey. 
Italian bees decrease their brood before the end 
of the honey season, and fill the cells with honey. 
With them it happens sometimes that they thus 
become weak. Eor these reasons the beekeeper 
in ust prepare his bees for winter before the end 
of the season. Weak hives can be strengthened 
by giving them a comb of brood from a strong 
hive, or two weak ones can be united, first 
having removed one queen, and then rendered the 
bees defenceless by smoke. After a sudden 
close of the honey season the entrances must be 
made small, especially in fine weather, as the 
bees are then inclined to rob. Old, or otherwise 
valueless queens, must be exchanged, and the 
combs should not be too old, and should contain 
sufficient honey and pollen to last till spring, 
when fresh can be gathered, or feeding can be 
done without risk. Sli uld a hive want supply 
of honey, and none could be given in the comb, 
such a hive should be fed at once till enough is 
stored for winter. The queen is of principal 
value, and no queen of bad quality should be 
taken into winter quarters, as the strength and 
activity of the stock in next year depends on the 
queen entirely. Now is a splendid time to 
destroy Black Queens and replace them with pure 
Italians. After these preparations it is easy to 
winter them properly, and the sooner that is 
done the better. In short, the foundation of 
the good wintering of the bees is : 
1. A young, fertile and healthy qneen. 
2. Bees enough to cover at least five frames. 
3. Prom 10 to 20-lbs. of good honey, and some 
pollen. 
4. Nice workercomb, not dark and defective. 
5. A good hive. 
• ' If these points are satisfactory, there is every 
hope of a good result at the end of the winter 
season. In districts with severe winter and late 
spring, the hive must be made of heavier 
material, and an extra few pounds of honey must 
be left for food. But as most parts of Australia 
have a mild winter, strong colonies should not be 
wintered too warm, as the bees may commence 
too early to breed, and consume more honey, 
which induces them to untimely flights. Dis- 
turbing the bees in their winter rest may have 
bad consequences on them, and feeding them 
should absolutely be avoided. They should not 
be disturbed without need. 
A late winter is most dangerous for the bees, 
as it causes thirst, impure air, etc., which makes 
them suffer, and brings a severe loss. The bee- 
keeper lias to avoid this. The bees want water 
during tlieir winter’s rest, especially when they 
commence breeding ; but sufficient of this ia 
generally produced above and on the sides of 
the bee nest through the warmth extending 
therefrom meeting with the cold air from out- 
side. If the cover of the hive lets the warmth 
escape, as is often the ease with hives that open 
at the top, the bees will suffer for it; on the 
other hand, when a hive opens at the back, there 
is a ventilation throughout to a certain extent, 
and the damp air forms waterdrops on the top 
inside which the bees take, if required ; and rf 
not, it runs down, and the circulating air takes 
it up again. 
Having the bees wintered on the above condi- 
tions they will winter well. I may here state 
that since my career in beeculture, I have yearly 
wintered several hundred hives, but never lost 
one. A few queens die every year, although 
they may be young. I have always found it a 
great advantage for successful wintering to be 
able to decrease the space for the bees during that 
period, and with my hives it can easily be 
effected. I take every comb out at the last 
revision, and examine its contents, as well as 
the number of bees thereon — the quality of the 
queen being noted long before — then the hive is 
cleaned of every obstacle that hinders manipula- 
tions ; five to eight selected combs most suitable 
for next year brood, with tlie required quantity 
and quality of honey, and some pollen, are 
returned, placing the glass division close to the 
last frame. Thus, an empty space for two to 
five frames between glass and door is left, the 
honey room above being empty, also with its 
openings covered. Now I have it in my power 
to regulate the circulation of air ; in short, 
winter them cold or warm, as desired. In mild 
w r eather, and with strong hives, the small slips of 
w r ood at top and bottom of the glass division are 
left open, even the communication to the honey 
room may be left open, thus giving room for 
circulation of air; but with weak hives, and in 
cold weather these openings are all closed ; the 
honey room, and also the empty space between 
door and glass is filled with hay, to keep the 
warmth the bees produce together. How soon the 
number of bees in these hives, although weak in 
the autumn, increase in spring, those only are 
able to understand who have tried it, and the 
consumption of honey is only a trifle. 
It surprises me that American beemen, with 
their highly-priced hives, suffer so much through 
loss of colonies dying during winter, or in early 
spring. An expert in beeculture should not lose 
two per cent., whether in cold or mild climate, 
and let it be understood that I have wintered 
bees in North of Europe as successfully as here, 
although we have had snow and ice for five 
months some years, and our bees wore confined 
without a flight for all that time. The hive has 
proving this. 
W. ABRAM, MATfAGEii, 
Italian Bee Company. 
Parramatta, N.S.W. 
